StreamingMedia.com has released a new research report that compares RealVideo and Windows Media with top Flash and H.264 codecs. It says “the quality of the best Flash and H.264 codecs still trailed RealVideo, often by a significant margin.”

Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs said on Monday that he believes it makes sense for Apple to create a wireless iPod. Jacobs noted that while he talks to Apple “every so often” he does not have any insight into the company’s plans.

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Comments

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Great of them to put the Oscar nominated shorts up—before the ceremony, no less. Looks like the theatrical shorts program won’t be making it to an Atlanta theater this year, so this may be my only way to see them. Wish there was a lower combined price for buying all five, but no matter. Maybe we can get the animated shorts too?

Posted by Hrothgar on February 28, 2006 at 10:35 AM (CST)

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Just about every proposal touted in in the “plan to take on iTunes” involves giving the labels what they want; variable pricing, subscriptions. Customers on the other hand have responded to the exact opposite - fixed pricing for individual tracks + albums and buy-to-own. Just because the labels have drawn themselves a subscription/profit graph that goes up and up doesn’t mean that reality is going to simply comply.

Subscription services such as Napster To Go have their customers who I hope are all extremely happy. However as an iTunes toppler, they’ve been a collosal failure. Insisting that “The subscription model is going to change the game” is simply flying in the face of overwhelming historical evidence. It being true and hoping like hell it will be true are not the same thing.

Far from run it may be, but short of divine intervention the WMA/MS-DRM modelled stores are not about to make up the substantial amounts of lost ground needed.

With the threat of the original napster the labels tried to either sue everyone into submission or persuade them to use their own online stores, most of which were unusable and unfriendly from a consumer point of view.

Apple saved them, made them money and paid for most of the infrastructure/development to allow the labels their revenue and profits from iTMS. To now cast Apple as the bad guy in all of this simply smacks of monumental ingratitude.

Labels; the choice is clear. Either start backing Apple with their PROVEN, WORKING and PROFITABLE business model or return to the dark ages of ‘99/2000 with consumers freeloading their own content and you not seeing a penny. Wake up!